“We Want Educators To Help Create Change Makers And Strong Leaders”, Recommends Katie Zawadieh Of Sky Limited Consulting

Q: In your opinion, what are the three positive changes at high school and then university levels that could be implemented to take its leaders towards higher standards across the education industry standards?

A: Thank you very much for your important and critical question. In the time and era of fast advancement of technology as well as the unprecedented pandemics and wars, we all need to reflect on your question and think of ways to envision as possible, what the future will look like and what are the major needs that will drive markets and businesses which should be cascaded down to enhancements and alignments in the education system at a school and university level. In my opinion, the three key positive changes that could be implemented toward higher standards across the education industry and considered by educators, policymakers and government leaders are:

1. Empowering leaders is now a priority around the world, so we need to equip leadership teams in schools and universities with the right tools to lead in this fast-changing world and plan and manage change in their institutions effectively. These leaders need to be able to see further ahead and envision and plan for the future more effectively, aligning these plans with those of the country and finally, cascading these plans down to school and university levels. Leaders should train and empower other leaders and build their capacity. We all need to invest in building strong sustainable leadership teams in all institutions.
2. Educators need to be equipped in all educational institutions to teach differently with focused attention on students’ identity and character, empowering and coaching them as global citizens to be resilient, to understand themselves better, and their potential, be grounded in love, compassion and empathy. Teachers at all levels need to help students become more service oriented and inspire them to live with purpose and meaning. Empowering them, causing a mindset shift, and understanding that even small acts from the students’ side can make a big difference in the lives of people around them. We need students to start asking the question ‘how can I use my skills and talents to help others, my community, my school, my university, my country and the country where I live.’ 

We want educators to help create change makers and strong leaders, rather than passive consumers and followers. We want them to help students think more critically and creatively to take the next steps boldly in their future. We need students to help serve others and stand in the gap whenever they see needs, to be courageous and bold to take the leap and design innovative solutions that help others and impact the community at large and the world. This is the role of educators in schools and universities. 

1. We need the educational systems to be more agile, to adopt and plan changes smoothly and effectively. If leaders could envision jobs of the future, they would initiate changes in the system which would impact changes in curriculum choices, courses and programs in schools and universities. If we want to prepare students for the future, we want to equip them with the skills and give them better access to the market sooner. We need these institutions to collaborate with community partners and businesses more effectivity to equip students, improve their readiness for work and support stronger entry to the marketplace. 

Educational institutions need to adopt more interdisciplinary approaches and more project-based real-life applications and consulting assignments connected to real businesses. I believe this will speed up the process of learning, making it impactful to enhance students’ readiness levels for the field of work.

Q: Please tell us more about your program and how it takes into account the sustainability goals of the region. 

A: The UAE has taken huge steps to incorporate sustainability goals in the divisions of its work. Sustainability goals are incorporated in the different curricula, teaching and institutional evaluation frameworks which are, in turn, raising people’s awareness of these goals. 

The amazing Expo 2020 gave so many ideas and knowledge about sustainability and how countries are working to meet SDG goals. In my role as a Coach and Consultant, I ask questions to evaluate the standards the institutions are working at to meet the sustainability goals of the region I am in. I ask questions to check the level of understanding from all leaders, teachers and students of these goals and what they have done on their part to contribute to solutions, sharing best practices or models, whenever allowed and possible. 

Q: How key is it for today’s educators to help their students distinguish between sustainable development education and environmental education as well as make them aware of the importance of problem-based interdisciplinary learning to sustainable development education? How do you see yourself as a coach embodying these principles in your own career? 

A: There is some level of awareness among most people of the importance of interdisciplinary learning to sustainable development. Some organizations have realized that the old model is not working, and we need to engage students in the learning process more effectively with real-life scenarios and applications. As a Coach and Consultant, I try to learn and think differently about things and as a result see what learning or knowledge I could share, whenever possible. 

In my free time, I volunteer to run projects in other countries. For example, I am working with a Canadian nonprofit that wants to help Indonesia in finding environmental and sustainable solutions to help young farmers and educate them on these innovative solutions. We want to train farmers on a farm and have them implement what they learn in real-life projects and assignments on their own farms. In the process of developing these solutions, our research team looks at other models and ideas implemented in other countries, so we are bringing the knowledge to benefit other countries. 

Q: Where do you see the actionable principles of sustainability and carbon neutrality both in the education industry and in an education leader’s sphere of work and where is there a possibility of improvement? 

A: The education system is changing worldwide and the leaders making these changes realize the need to embed sustainability more in-depth in the curriculum, the evaluation, tests, and exams. Schools, institutions, and students are evaluated for their understanding and asked for evidence of how they implement sustainability solutions in their sphere. There are many opportunities locally and globally, since we are more connected now, to learn from other countries' innovative solutions. People are reaching out to different resources to get educated and inspired with creative projects for sustainability. There is more work to be done for sure. 

Educators must find ways to get out of their comfort zone when teaching students and allow more opportunities for them to be creative. Exposing students to needed knowledge and give the space to be creative. If students are switched on and are inspired by what they learn, they will figure out creative solutions to implement them. Coach students to understand their potential and help them understand that every small act they initiate, influences others. If students believed they can make a difference and find purpose and meaning for every day, they will be switched on to find ways to contribute and we will then have our change makers.

Q: Please us some anecdotes of how you have helped in evaluating the performance of education leaders and improving their performance.

A: When evaluating any project or institution as a first step to help them improve and raise their standards, I try to do the evaluation ‘with the people’ not ‘to them’. In this way, they are part of the process and have ample opportunities to share what they have done, and where they see themselves on the journey to improvement which has to be supported by strong evidence. I get to ask questions that support changes in their perspective and help them reflect on their practices deeper and connect ‘what they are doing to the ‘impact of these actions on outcomes.’ 

Questions are a powerful tool to shift people’s perspectives and impact how they do things. My purpose is to create a positive impact on people’s lives and institutions. I am passionate about helping and serving. People see that I am doing it from the heart and that opens them up to receive any advice I share with them for improvement. 

At the end of any evaluation, I acknowledge the strengths that I witnessed and share recommendations on how to improve. Because of the daily discussions, leaders are not surprised by what is shared with them. If people understood the ‘why’ they can figure out the ‘how.’ In my business, my evaluations helped organizations merge into one, helped others grow and expand, supported organizations in getting accredited and improving their standards, created a quality assurance framework and evaluation tools for large organizations running over 20 programs across different regions, changing systems and processes to be more effective in other institutions, and coached clients how to lead better and change their leadership style.

Q: Please tell us about your journey from that of a coach to an employee and then as an entrepreneur yourself and a book you would recommend to all entrepreneurs.

A: I always reflected deeper on life, purpose and meaning. I always wanted to do more, to help people locally and internationally and use my skills and talents to bring positive change that could inspire others and support communities, whenever possible. I used to work full-time jobs but was looking for freedom and creativity in doing things instead of 9-5 systems. I always felt things could be done differently. That was before the transformation that happened during Covid to the world of work and how it has changed the way we do business. I do not like to be put in a box (I mean working within old traditional organizational models) and I believe I have different skills and experiences that I can use and share widely.

I worked in the education, nonprofit and business field. I have experience and skills in quality assurance and improvement, inspections, project management, coaching and consulting. I support organizations to help them improve their systems, processes and services, empowering them to deliver high-quality outcomes in a client-centred environment. Because I was seeking change and purpose, I reached the point where it became a necessity for me rather than an option. I broke from that fear that holds many people from doing what they really want to do. 

I woke up one day and took a leap of faith and decided to quit my full-time job even though I did not have any other opportunity and I did. I just walked away to do my own business. It was inspiring to people around me; they could not believe it. It is always inspiring to see how this encouraged others who did seek change afterwards. I decided to do my own business and travel internationally and God blessed me with so many projects in different fields. I try to coach and help wherever I go as a way and style of life, I just speak to random people wherever I go and just coach and share what could encourage and inspire them, whenever given the opportunity. I am service oriented, working from the heart in love, from love and for love. This is I believe what our world needs. I am back now to a full-time job, for personal reasons, helping in the education field which is a passion I have.

A book to recommend entrepreneurs to read ‘Disrupt you’ by Jay Samit. I read it years ago with practical inspiring ideas to encourage entrepreneurs to start their businesses and be change makers.

 If you wish other books, ‘Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek and ‘The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John Maxwell. The last two books are necessary for entrepreneurs to build their leadership skills.